Who's in Charge? An Empirical Study of Executive Staffing Practices in Foreign Subsidiaries
Anne-Wil Harzing
Department of Management of the University of Melbourne
Human Resource Management
Volume 40, Issue 2 , Pages 139 - 158
Abstract
This study investigates executive staffing practices in foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations. Grounded in a literature review of the reasons for employing either parent country nationals or host country nationals in top management positions in foreign subsidiaries, a number of factors influencing the choice between these alternatives are identified. Using a combination of an archival and mail survey research method, the influence of each of these factors is empirically tested with a sample of nearly 3000 observations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Toward a Dynamic Process Model of Staffing Composition and Subsidiary Outcomes in Multinational Enterprises
Yaping Gong
Journal of Management, Vol. 29, No. 2, 259-280 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/014920630302900207
© 2003 Southern Management Association
Subsidiary staffing composition is defined as the distribution of parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs), and third country nationals (TCNs) in subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Subsidiary staffing composition varies along the dimension of nationality heterogeneity. The MNE staffing literature has mainly focused on expatriate PCNs and individual-level outcomes. This article develops a dynamic process model in which heterogeneity of staffing composition influences affective, behavioral, cognitive, and strategic outcomes, which in turn affect subsidiary financial performance. Drawing upon organizational learning and social identification theories, this article offers testable propositions regarding relationships between staffing composition and subsidiary outcomes, and changes in these relationships over time. Finally, it proposes a preliminary research program to test the model.
Staffing architecture for expatriate assignments to support subsidiary cooperation
Milorad M. Novicevic, Michael Harvey
University of Mississippi
Thunderbird International Business Review
Volume 46, Issue 6 , Pages 709 - 724
The purpose of this article is to develop a theory-based explanation of expatriate staffing system (architecture) supporting subsidiary cooperation in multinational organizations. First, an overview of the factors driving the need for this system to provide a rationale for the use of role theory in the development of four specific expatriate role categories in different assignments is presented. Second, we examine how the associated issues of expatriate dependability and competence are related to this categorization. Third, we outline how the design of appropriate expatriate staffing architecture can help resolve specific conflicting issues in subsidiary cooperation. In conclusion, we discuss specific implications of the proposed framework. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An empirical study of executive nationality staffing practices in foreign-owned MNC subsidiaries in Ireland
Karen Thompson 1, Mary Keating 2
Thunderbird International Business Review
Volume 46, Issue 6 , Pages 771 - 797
This study provides empirical evidence of executive nationality staffing practices in foreign-owned multinational company (MNC) subsidiaries in Ireland. Aiming to both describe current practice and understand the factors that influence the choice of practice, the study involved the collection of data from 238 foreign-owned companies in Ireland. The findings negate previous findings (Harzing, 1999a, b) that all foreign-owned MNC subsidiaries in Ireland are managed by Irish nationals. The employment of parent country nationals was found to differ according to country-of-origin, industry, subsidiary, and MNC factors. The study has relevance theoretically in providing empirical evidence in an area dominated by conceptual assertions and for practice in explaining the strategic staffing decisions of MNCs. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
